Department for Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

lord campbell-savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 5 September (HL Deb, col 1896), whether any cladding confirmed by the Building Research Establishment as being made of aluminium composite material, that was referred to under the heading "data sharing" in the letter dated 5 September from the Department of Communities and Local Government to local authorities, was already listed as having been used in the construction of buildings during the last 18 months in the Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Following the completion of the large-scale system tests, we have published consolidated advice (attached) to building owners which contains a summary of the numbers of initial screening tests which have been completed to date by the Building Research Establishment:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643281/Update_and_consolidated_advice_for_building_owners_following_large-scale_testing.pdfWhere social housing buildings fail the tests, local authorities in England are informing tenants and the relevant constituency MP.



Summary of the numbers of screening test
(PDF Document, 335.6 KB)

Holiday Accommodation

baroness gardner of parkes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the need for a registration process of short-term holiday let tenants; and whether they have consulted local councils on this issue.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: There has been no assessment of, or consultation on, a register of short term holiday let tenants.

Holiday Accommodation: Greater London

baroness gardner of parkes: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the research by the Kensington Society which found that there were some 70,000 short-term lets available in London on 2 June 2016 alone, what is their assessment of the impact of the growth in the number of London properties used for short-term holiday lets on the availability of long-term housing in London.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government supports the shared economy, and although it does not hold specific information on short-term holiday lets, it does monitor broader trends in private rented housing through the English Housing Survey. It is right that Londoners should have similar rights as elsewhere in England and be free to sublet their homes where their tenancy, contract or mortgage allows. We condemn, however, the abuse of planning laws, and those in breach face a fine of up to £20,000.

Cabinet Office

List of Ministerial Responsibilities

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish an updated edition of the list of ministerial responsibilities, last updated in October 2016.

baroness sugg: The updated List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be published shortly. In the interim, a summary of Ministers responsibilities can be found onGov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers.

Inflation

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will continue to include figures relating to the Retail Price Index in the monthly press release on UK consumer price inflation issued by the Office for National Statistics.

baroness sugg: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 118.65 KB)

Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations

lord wallace of tankerness: To ask Her Majesty's Government on which dates the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU negotiations has met in 2017 to date; and which ministers attended on behalf of (a) the UK Government, and (b) the devolved administrations.

baroness sugg: The Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations [JMC(EN)] met in 2017 on 19 January and 8 February.On 19 January 2017, the following ministers attended:a. On behalf of the UK Government: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon James Brokenshire; The Secretary of State for Scotland, Rt Hon David Mundell MP; The Secretary of State for Wales, Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP; The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon David Gauke; Minister of State for Europe and the Americas in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP; Minister for Cabinet Office, Rt Hon Ben Gummer MP; and Minister of State for the Department for Exiting the EU, Rt Hon David Jones MP.b. On behalf of the devolved administrations: from the Scottish Government, The Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, Mike Russell MSP; from the Welsh Government, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Mark Drakeford AM; and from the Northern Ireland Executive, Minister for Infrastructure, Chris Hazzard MLA and Junior Minister, The Executive Office, Alastair Ross MLA.On 8 February 2017, the following ministers attended:a. On behalf of the UK Government: The Secretary of State for the Department for Exiting the European Union, Rt Hon David Davis MP; The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon James Brokenshire; The Secretary of State for Scotland, Rt Hon David Mundell MP; The Secretary of State for Wales, Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP; Minister of State for Europe and the Americas in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Rt Hon Alan Duncan MP; Minister for Cabinet Office, Rt Hon Ben Gummer MP; Minister of State for the Department for Exiting the EU, Rt Hon David Jones MP; Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP.b. On behalf of the devolved administrations: from the Scottish Government, The Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, Mike Russell MSP; from the Welsh Government, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Mark Drakeford AM; and from the Northern Ireland Executive, Minister for Finance, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir MLA and Junior Minister, The Executive Office, Alastair Ross MLA.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Cucumbers: Packaging

lord hayward: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether British retailers are required to cover in plastic wrapping cucumbers sold to consumers; and if so, whether that requirement derives from (1) UK law, (2) EU law, (3) a non-legally binding commitment between the Government and retailers, or (4) some other source.

lord hayward: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to review the practice of covering in plastic cucumbers sold to consumers.

lord hayward: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with British retailers in each of the last five years concerning plastic wrapping used to cover cucumbers sold to consumers.

lord hayward: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the annual level of waste resulting from plastic wrapping used to cover cucumbers sold to consumers in the UK; and whether they have made any comparative assessment of the equivalent level of waste in (1) Germany, (2) France, (3) Italy, and (4) the Netherlands.

lord gardiner of kimble: There is no specific requirement to wrap cucumbers in cling film or other wrapping, but food businesses are required to provide food that is both safe and fit to eat. Food businesses do cover cucumbers to improve the shelf life of these products and reduce food waste, as the environmental impact of wasting food is far greater than the packaging containing it. We have had no discussions with retailers regarding the packaging of cucumbers over the last five years and have no plans to review the practice. We do not collect data on specific packaging lines and formats and are not aware of any equivalent data relating to cucumber packaging from other Member States.